President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. delivers his speech during the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) at Camp Abubakar, Barira, Maguindanao del Norte on April 29, 2024. (Benyamen Cabuntalan/BIO)
MAGUINDANAO DEL NORTE—President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) made a declaration during his visit here on Monday, April 29, that the Bangsamoro constituents are the winners of the Bangsamoro peace process.
This was stated during the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) at Camp Abubakar, Barira town of the said province.
“Niyakap (natin) ang kasunduang walang natalo, pero tao ang panalo,” the President underscored.
[We embraced this agreement where no one lost, but it is the people who emerged winners.]
On March 27, 2014, the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the CAB, which is the concluding peace accord between the parties that ended more than two scores of their armed conflict.
PBBM shared that the implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process resulted in positive changes in the once-war-centered autonomous region in Mindanao.
“Kung dati, ito (BARMM) ay lugar ng labanan, ngayon ay lugar na ito ng kapayapaan. Kung dati, dugo ang dumadanak dito, ngayon ay kaunlaran ang dumadaloy,” he emphasized.
[If before, this (BARMM) was a place of armed struggle, now it is a place of peace. If before, blood was spilled here, now prosperity is flowing.]
Marcos highlighted his commitment to the normalization track of the CAB, citing the previously granted amnesty to the former rebels, including the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
In November 2023, PBBM granted amnesty to MILF and MNLF under Proclamation Nos. 405 and 406, consequential to the full implementation of the track.
The normalization track features significant interventions, particularly elaborating on the decommissioning of the ex-combatants, disbandment of private armed groups (PAGs), and renewal of the Presidential Proclamation on Amnesty, among others.
As of January 2024, a total of 26,145 former government foes were already decommissioned, which equates to 65.36 percent of the total targeted number—40,000 individuals.
He urged the peace champions, along with the Bangsamoro residents, to strengthen coordination to achieve long-lasting and sustainable peace and development in the BARMM.
“Let us continue to work together and march in unison as we implement our whole-of-society approach in our mission to uplift the lives of the people of Bangsamoro,” Marcos said. (Johamin Inok/BIO)
